Where to go? - Page 2

AdrenalineRush · 12-09-2006

incredible

AdrenalineRush · 12-10-2006

so...what does everyone ski/ride?

just curious cuz i got new skis.

COUNT · 12-10-2006

I ski on snow (mostly)

.

168 Rossi Mogul (a few different pairs)
168 Rossi Scratch
161 Salomon 1080
163 old school straight slalom skis with tele bindings for when I feel the need to release the heel.

COUNT

AdrenalineRush · 12-11-2006

whats tele like? my dad does it...but it looks hard

danimal · 12-11-2006

COUNT why do you ski on such small skis?

COUNT · 12-12-2006

Mainly because I'm 5'1" and 130. My 168's are like 5 inches taller than me and most people who don't know me say they look too long for someone my size. Admittedly, the 161's are now a little short for me but they're a good pair of rock skis. 163 is plenty of length on my tele's because when you're down in a turn you've really got more like 190 on the snow.

AR:Telemarking is tons of fun and I love it. It is definately a lot harder than downhill but that's because I've been downhilling for 16 years and only tele-ing for 5. It's frustrating at first but if you stick with it through the learning curve, you will love it.

COUNT

Steve Kahn · 12-12-2006

not to totally thread jack, but does anyone else find the whole concept of bumps and jumps pretty weird?

i mean, the concept of trying to rip moguls, and quickly hit a jump, and land back into moguls seems kind of silly to me. seems preferable to have a freestyle comp., and throw down on a big table with a nice landing, acheiving much more spectacular and cool freestyle, since you're going big and landing on a nice slope. consequently, one could have a bumps contest, and still judge on speed and style, but not worry about a jump, where you don't get much air (relative) and pull stupid looking 1970's tricks anyways?

seems to me like mixing the two makes for a lower quality comp.

COUNT · 12-12-2006

I know where you're coming from and this debate has gone round and round in circles in the freestyle competition committees for years. First, they do have those competitions; they're called Big Air, Slopestyle, Halfpipe, and Aerials. And honestly, how much skiing skill does it take to huck yourself off a ginourmous table? It takes amazing gymnastic abilities but there is actually very little skiing going on in between: all they have to do is be able to take-off and land centered on their skis and ride it out. Freestyle mogul skiing's goal is to make the best all around skiers. If a competition were just moguls, it would very quickly reach a plateau where skiers just can't go any faster and still make turns. As it is, these guys are skiing a 250 meter course with fast times for the day between 18 and 21 seconds. You can do the math. And that's with two airs. Just jumping isn't that hard and just skiing the bumps isn't that hard. It's putting the two together that makes the sport challenging. Check out the video links I posted above. It's no longer guys throwing boring 70's tricks. You've got Dave Babic throwing 1080 D-Spin in World Cup. Toby Dawson throwing a sick cork 7. Tapio Luusa throwing Misty 7 and Nate Roberts throwing back-full. Heather McPhie goes bigger on her D-Spin in the bumps than most guys have gone off of a table. And these guys actually do have a huge pad (the world cups have 10-15m pads after a couple meter table). They're just consistently landing at the end of these pads. If you haven't been to a mogul comp in the last year, I would highly suggest going and checking it out. The sport has changed significantly every year for the last 8 years and is now completely different from what it used to be. New school has entered mogul skiing. You will see most of the tricks you can think of: backflip, front flip, loop, D-spin, Misty, back-full (a couple guys have thrown back-double-full in moguls, too), and all sorts of combinations of corks and off-axis tricks with any assortment of grabs thrown in (cross, mute, and tail are most common, though). You'll see guys doing everything from 180's to 1440's (if you're lucky). Yes, big air comps will have bigger harder tricks because they don't have to be able to turn right away when they land, but mogul comps will always have an amazing combination of skiing and jumping. Steamboat has a world cup and I think Telluride has a Noram this year. Definately check it out, I know I'll be there.

COUNT

AdrenalineRush · 12-13-2006

anyone with some good mogul tips? especially for really widely spaced moguls and snowblindness?

COUNT · 12-14-2006

Good mogul tips? Everyone's got a set of things that works for them. For me if I can keep my hands up and my eyes up, I ski well.

Widely spaced moguls? The most important thing is to be in a good stance centered over your skis. This will allow you to be patient and trusting as you slide (or carve) into the next mogul. If you aren't patient enough and turn your skis too early, you will also probably turn your hips and upper body away (which leaves you in an uncontrolled position with a bad line). I would focus on keeping your hands/hips/upper body directed down the fall-line as you patiently slide into the bump before you turn.

Snowblindness, eh? Get a yellow-lensed goggle (or clear works alright). Best investment I ever made, especially as a competitor. As for skiing, when visibility is low, it is even more important to keep an athletic forward stance and again be patient as you are waiting for wherever it is you want to turn, be it on a mogul or certain spot on the slope. You have to be especially mindful of what your feet are telling you because you will get more kinesthetic input than visual input. It is a natural tendency for people to want to lean away (into the hill) when the light is low but this is what you have to fight because it will put you in the absolute worst position for dealing with what comes at you.

It's hard to give advice when you're not there to dissect what's good and bad and show what positions are good but I hope this makes sense. Where do you ski? I'd be happy to hit the hill with you sometime.

COUNT